Sub Can Suspend Work For Non-Payment Without Notice

The AIA A401 Subcontract allows an unpaid
subcontractor to stop work until payment is received, “upon seven additional
days’ written notice to the Contractor.” (§4.7.1).

In
a New York school construction dispute, the subcontractor was unpaid for three
months and stopped work, but did so without providing the contractual 7-day
notice prior to suspending work. The Court excused the subcontractor’s
untimely notice by finding that the general contractor materially breached the
subcontract by failing to pay the subcontractor. U.W. Marx,
Inc. v. Koko Contracting, Inc., 2015 WL 263904 (3d Dep’t. 2015).

Obviously,
the best course of action is to provide the proper notice prior to stopping
work, but this case may provide some relief to unpaid contractors and
subcontractors who neglect to provide proper notice prior to stopping work.